Night Fire
by Ms. H. Scarlet
Summary: Fuffy. What really happened between the two slayers the night after defeating Kakistos? T rating for now...might be M later.
1. Chapter 1

I got a little tired of my other story…kind of hit a snag along the way. Anyway, I was re-watching early episodes from season 3 and realized that no one knows what happens to Buffy and Faith just after slaying Mr. Khaki Trousers – er, excuse me – Kakistos. Therefore, I hope you all enjoy my little take on the situation. Oh, and in this story, I'm not really sure how old they're supposed to be, so Faith is 16 and Buffy is about to turn 17.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately. If I did…well, this is what would have happened…

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"_Are you hungry?" asked Buffy._

_"Starved," Faith panted. _

"Great. Well, let's go back to my house and eat – since your motel room is kinda out of the question," Buffy suggested.

"Sure," Faith said, a still-fearful look on her face.

"Hey, it'll be alright. He's gone. It's over," Buffy said about Kakistos, at the same time realizing for herself that Angel was gone and wouldn't be coming back under any circumstances. "It's over," she repeated.

Faith would have asked what Buffy was thinking, but she was afraid of being brushed off again, and she was much too focused on her own slowly fading fear. After a few moments she spoke up.

"Yeah, over."

Both girls walked a ways in silence. A few blocks from the Summers home, Buffy finally came out of her bubble of thoughts and decided to wisely use her few free minutes with Faith before they were inevitably bombarded with questions from Mrs. Summers. She reached out and gently touched Faith on the arm, trying not to startle her. It didn't help. Faith jumped and yelped a little at the contact.

"Jeez, B. Warn a girl before ya go molesting her," she tried to say in a care-free voice, but it came out strained. Buffy, for her part looked confused, surprised, embarrassed and then annoyed within a span of three seconds.

"Sorry. Just didn't wanna – whatever. Nevermind," Buffy said.

_Great, _Faith thought. _Just put those inner walls up a little higher, B. Don't let anyone else in._

"Damn it," Buffy muttered under her breath after hearing Faith sigh, defeated. "Faith, do you want to talk about what just happened? Because honestly, that was pretty high on the wiggins scale – for me at least."

"Whatever, B. I'm five by five." _I don't want your pity, B._

"Well I wouldn't mind talking about it. Look, Faith, I'm sorry. I just – after everything with Angel, and just…last summer. I just don't really want to open up to anyone, so I get it. And I just started feeling like I was getting my life back and then you pop in," Buffy said, her voice growing louder with her frustration, "and you just steal my friends and my watcher and my mom and my _life_ and…I just don't like that feeling," she finished.

"Yeah, B. Jealousy's a bitch," Faith said and managed to smirk a little, even though she was still shaking from the fear she still felt. The disappointment that Buffy didn't really like her was overwhelming her broken emotional state.

"Excuse me? Jealous? Of you? Little miss 'I'm too sexy for my leather pants?'" Buffy scoffed.

"Oh, please, B. As if you haven't thought of it. And as if you haven't pictured me without 'em," Faith smirked a little more.

"I – you – how – no!" Buffy stammered and blushed. "I – no! There's Angel, well…no, but Scott, now. Hello! So not gay."

"Yet," Faith grinned. The girls had reached the porch by this time and Buffy went to open the door, but found that it was locked.

"Huh. I guess Mom must have gone to bed," Buffy said, puzzled. Mrs. Summers usually wanted to know how the night's slaying had gone. Maybe she was backing off a little bit because she trusted her to be safe now that Faith was there to help.

Buffy proceeded to walk to the window behind the swing and grab the spare key from a potted plant on the windowsill. She unlocked the door and motioned to Faith to go in before she replaced the key. She then walked into the house, closing and locking the door securely behind her. When she turned around, she found Faith shifting nervously from one foot to the other with her hands shoved into the waistband of her pants – she was lacking pockets. Buffy smiled encouragingly at her.

"C'mon. Let's find some food," she said, steering Faith into the kitchen by her elbow.

Faith sat on one of the chairs next to the island while Buffy bustled about, digging through the refrigerator and the cupboards for something to eat.

"Hungry and horny, right?" Buffy asked. Faith snapped out of her thoughts. _Damn, did she really just say that? I am good! It's not just me then. _

"So it's not just me then, B? You feelin' the double Hs too?" Buffy had her back turned to Faith and grimaced before she turned around to face her.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not just you. Just don't go telling everyone."

"Gotcha. Wouldn't wanna ruin that cheerleader, goodie-two-shoes thing ya got goin' for ya," Faith said, her face downcast.

"Goodie-two-shoes? Please. I was such a rebel that my dad…" she trailed off, realizing that she was about to share a personal piece of information with Faith. She shrugged inwardly and continued, "couldn't deal and left."

"You too, huh?" Faith said, surprising Buffy. Buffy, on her part, suddenly remembered something that Faith had shouted during the fight earlier: _Please! My dead mother hits harder than that!_

"Yeah. My parents were divorced just before I moved here from LA. I had to sneak out so many times to train with my watcher and – and he just…didn't know…no one knew." Buffy stopped. She couldn't go on if she wanted to. Faith looked uncomfortable.

"Hey, B, it's, you know it's not your fault. Guy's a bastard for leavin' chicks like you and your mom," she said and looked at her hands, playing with an apple on the countertop. "Your watcher? Giles, you mean?"

"No I didn't know Giles then. My first watcher's name was Merrick. He was the one that found me at Hemory that day…god, I was scared. I wasn't ready to give up my life then either. But I know what it's like to lose your watcher," Buffy frowned. Faith stood up and grabbed the box of macaroni and cheese that Buffy was idly tossing from hand to hand.

"If you throw that around anymore, it's gonna explode," Faith smiled for the first time since the fight. Buffy looked surprised that Faith was standing just in front of her, just holding the box without pulling it away from her. "I get how the whole not being able to tell your family thing goes. I never really had any to tell, though. My mom died when I was fourteen. My dad took care of me, but I was called when I was fifteen, and I didn't know what happened when I was called. I just played the rebel part and snuck around. It took three months before my watcher found me – my dad had already left me. I was just bummin' the streets and clubs that I could find without a cover. It was another month before Kakistos. I've been running ever since – almost a year now," Faith paused. "Old habits are hard to break," she finished quietly.

"I had no idea. Faith I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you," Buffy said, and she surprised herself by really meaning it.

"'S alright, B. Whatever," Faith said, still holding the box of pasta between them. She looked startled when Buffy rubbed her thumb gently across the back of Faith's hand.

"No, I really shouldn't have acted that way. I just-"

"Hey, no big. It's fine," Faith cut her off. "Now are we gonna eat or what? At least I can get over one part of the H and Hs."

This time it was Buffy's turn to smirk. "Which one?" she asked with that little unintentional half smile that boys apparently liked, according to Willow. Faith's initial look of surprise turned quickly into a smirk to rival Buffy's.

"Well, B, I guess that depends on how you play your cards," Faith said. _Damn! I AM good. _

Buffy smirked and poked Faith in the stomach – making Faith double over in surprise – and grabbed the box of mac and cheese, turning it over to look at the directions.

"I think we're gonna need two of these," Buffy said. "Or possibly six. Can you grab the others out of the bottom cupboard by the fridge?" Buffy asked, turning back to Faith.

"Sure, B," she said and bent over to dig through the cupboard.

_Damn, she has a nice ass. _Buffy thought. _Wait, what am I thinking? Ah, here's the horny part of the double Hs. Seriously though this girl is really hot._

Meanwhile, Faith had thoughts of her own as she dug through the cupboard. _No way. No fricken way. High and mighty, 'holier than thou' Buffy Summers is totally checking out my ass. Seriously if she stares any more, she's gonna burn holes right through me. _She found the boxes of mac and cheese and grabbed four, and then quickly spun around, catching Buffy in the act of staring at her. Faith smirked as Buffy blushed.

"See somethin' ya like, B?" Faith asked, smirk intact. Buffy sputtered for a minute, but then shrugged.

"Depends. Can you grab the milk out of the fridge too, since you're there?" she said casually, then turning back to the kettle on the stove and inwardly slapping herself in the face.

"Depends?" Faith asked, incredulous. But she set the boxes of mac and cheese on the counter and went to the fridge to grab the milk.

"Oh, and the butter while you're in there – top right," Buffy said.

"Again, B. Depends?!" Faith asked as she walked up behind Buffy with the milk and the butter. She stood just behind the older girl, placing the milk and butter on either side of Buffy and the kettle on the stove. "C'mon, B. How could you resist this?" Faith asked and pressed her front fully into Buffy's back and wrapping her arms around Buffy's waist and resting her head on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy, against her better judgment, leaned her head back against the taller girl's shoulder and moaned at the contact. "Mm. See, I told you," Faith said and suddenly backed away.

"Tease," Buffy said, almost falling over because she had been leaning against Faith almost as fully as Faith had been leaning against her – wanting closer contact. Faith smiled a bit as she leaned against the sink.

"You have no idea," Faith said. Buffy turned the burner on high, making sure that she didn't have too much water in the giant kettle on the stove so that it wouldn't boil over. Then Buffy's body decided to take over all of her responses, and totally disregard her brain. She walked over to Faith and put her hands over Faith's which were resting on the edge of the sink behind her. Very slowly, she drew herself closer and closer to Faith, until she was close enough to feel the other girl's erratic breathing at her close proximity. She tilted her head to whisper in Faith's ear.

"Well maybe you should show me sometime," she said and gently pulled Faith's hair behind her ear so she could plant a soft kiss on her jaw, just below her ear. Faith gasped, and Buffy pulled away quickly, turning back to the stove, her face as red as the red-hot burner. She didn't say anything though; she didn't want to lose that sudden cool that was quickly leaving her.

After a moment of deliberation at the apparent feelings in the situation, Faith walked up behind Buffy again, pressing her front into every available inch on Buffy's back as she could. Faith tilted her head a bit, taking Buffy's hair and sweeping it back so that it draped over her left shoulder. Faith bent and kissed Buffy's shoulder, gradually making her purple lipstick prints travel all the way up to Buffy's ear. Buffy whimpered softly.

"Are you sure that's what you want, B?" Faith asked huskily. Her hormones were overpowering her, but that was all part of the H and Hs. Buffy inhaled a shaky breath and then…

To be continued…

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Ok, yes, I know, I know. I'm evil. But things are gettin' pretty hot and heavy in the Summers kitchen. So what's Buffy going to do? Fess up to her feelings, or possibly slap Faith in her promiscuous mouth? As the author, I laugh at your lack of control over where this goes. Mwa ha ha. Really though, I think you'll enjoy the next chapter. This will no doubt be a two chapter story – three chapters at best. So what do you think? Tell me or I won't write another chapter! Mwa ha ha! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, I know you all want to find out what's going to happen, but please take a minute to read this. First of all, thank you all for your wonderful and faithful reviews. As far as my replies to them go: RabidReject, once again, thank you for reviewing. Royoko05, your comment made me laugh, thanks. SeventhTheory, I'm working on it. As long as I can find some time. Mymindisonyou, your comment was so sweet and made me so happy that I almost cried. And Kenyon87, keep those reviews coming too, they encourage me. As for if it will match up with canon or not, I'm not sure. I'm not so good at writing angsty fics – I like mine deliriously happy (since Mr. Whedon never gave them the endings that they should have had) – so I would take a guess and say probably not. Gemini2307, I know I'm evil. I rather enjoy it ;)

So in conclusion, I'm easy to please, just review! :]

Second of all, I am fairly thrilled as to where this chapter went. I think that all of you will like it too. Ok, now you can read the good stuff instead of my boring little speech. See now, was that so bad?

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"_Are you sure that's what you want, B?" Faith asked huskily. Her hormones were overpowering her, but that was all part of the H and Hs. Buffy inhaled a shaky breath and then…_ nodded.

"Yes," she breathed.

"Can't hear ya, B."

_You can too, you're a slayer._ Buffy thought, but played along.

"Yes," she spoke softly. Faith smiled into the kiss she was planting on Buffy's neck.

"What was that?" Faith asked.

"YES, DAMN IT!" Buffy nearly screeched, turning abruptly in Faith's arms.

"Well why didn't you just say so then?" Faith asked, kissing Buffy on the lips.

For Buffy, this was something new. Something that she'd never experienced. Therefore, her reaction could be justified.

"AHHH! WAIT!" Buffy yelled.

"What? Why?" Faith asked, clearly frustrated.

"No, we can't just – just – do that," Buffy said. Faith sighed.

"Your water's boiling," Faith said.

"I'll say," Buffy sighed. Faith chuckled and smirked.

"No, B. I meant the water for the mac and cheese. It's going to boil over," Faith said, reaching over Buffy to move the pot off the burner, pinning Buffy to the stove in the process.

"Uhh, Faith?" Buffy said in a small, squeaky voice.

"Yeah, babe," Faith said and smirked because Buffy couldn't see her face, she was so leaned over her.

"Why – I mean, um-"

"Chill, B," Faith cut her off. "Where're the boxes?"

"Boxes?"

"Yeah. Those boxes of food we're gonna eat?" Faith said slowly.

"Oh. Those. You left them on the counter," Buffy said. She was having a hard time breathing without just knocking Faith to the ground right there.

"K. Thanks," Faith said, and grinned as an idea popped into her head. After a moment she said, "Well one of us should go get them, if we're ever going to eat."

"Well, you're kinda – I mean – you're pinning me here," Buffy stammered.

"Right. Well I guess I'll go get them then," Faith said. She lifted the kettle back down on the slightly colder burner, causing her to have to brace herself a little against Buffy. In order to stand up so that she wasn't leaning on Buffy, she pushed her hips against Buffy's for a moment, smiling as the older girl groaned at the contact. Faith pulled away and threw three of the boxes at Buffy – two of which Buffy dropped. "Here, open those," Faith instructed.

"Uh, y-yeah," Buffy stuttered and opened the boxes – dumping them hurriedly into the pot of water – forgetting to take the separate packets of cheese out of them before doing so. "Damn it!" Buffy said after realizing what she did. She reached into the water quickly and pulled out the bags – burning her fingers in the process. "Ow!"

"What'd you do?" Faith asked – blissfully unaware of Buffy's bout of stupidity.

"Burned my fingers," Buffy whined, looking at them sadly.

"Well, here, come here," Faith said, walking over to Buffy and leading her to the sink to run cold water over her hand. Faith quickly set the packets of powdered cheese by the other, soggy ones, and put the noodles in the pot with the others. She walked back to Buffy and turned the water off, examining the older slayer's hand. "You know, B, for being a kick-ass fighter, you don't have a whole lot of common sense," Faith chuckled.

"Fine, laugh at the girl in pain," Buffy said, hurt. Faith stopped laughing.

"Sorry, babe. Here let me see," Faith said, lifting Buffy's hand up to her eye-level. Very gently she kissed each of her fingers. "There," she said softly. "All better."

Surprising Faith, Buffy moved closer to her and snuggled into her arms. Faith wrapped her arms around Buffy and rested her head against Buffy's. They stood like this until their food was done, and then Faith added the milk, butter and cheese while Buffy went to get plates and forks out of the cupboard.

"I don't think we're gonna need plates, B," Faith said, realizing what the other girl was doing. "Then we gotta wash the dishes. We can just eat it out of this thing," she suggested. Buffy turned and put the plates away wordlessly, and then went and sat at the counter, resting her head face-down on her folded arms.

Faith put the pot on the island, and walked behind Buffy.

"B, it's alright," Faith said, reaching out hesitantly to rub Buffy's back. Before she could reach her, however, Buffy sat upright abruptly.

"What's alright? How is this alright?" Buffy asked, about to explode. She gestured between them as she spoke. "How – I mean, we – you kissed me and then-"

"Look, Buffy, whatever. If you want to forget it, be my guest. But I wasn't the only one," Faith said and turned away from her so Buffy wouldn't see her pained expression. She walked back to the sink and bent over, leaning her elbows on it as she stared down into it. After a moment, Buffy spoke.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – shouldn't have wigged."

"Nah, B, it's alright. You've probably never done this before."

"What is _this_, exactly?" Buffy asked. Faith was silent for such a long time that Buffy was tempted to ask again, but just as she opened her mouth, Faith spoke.

"I don't know what it is to you, B. For me, it's a little bit of hope."

"Oh," Buffy said in realization. She walked over and paused when she was standing next to Faith's still bent-over frame. After a moment's mental deliberation, she wrapped her arms around Faith's waist and leaned her head on Faith's shoulder. Faith sighed and stood up, allowing Buffy to hug her more fully from behind.

"C'mon, B. Let's eat."

They ate their food in silence, occasionally jarring themselves out of their thoughts when they would bump their forks together accidentally because they weren't paying attention. A mumbled sorry was the response out of each girl before they would go back to eating silently. When they had finished, they washed their dishes and put them away, and then stood awkwardly, looking around the room at everything but each other. Finally, Buffy spoke.

"Ok, well you can sleep in my room if you want. I can sleep on the floor or on the couch down here – whatever."

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Ok, once again, I'm evil for stopping here. But at least this isn't as much of a cliffhanger as the last chapter :] So I think there will be one more chapter after this, and that will be the end. You can tell me whether or not I should continue after you read it. Anyway, please review! School is coming up for me in a week, so I will try to write as much as I can, but my updates may have to be saved for the weekends from then on.

Alright, I've updated. Feel free to commence the book-throwing. Not too hard, please! I can't write with broken appendages.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so sorry for not updating for forever and a day. School's been kicking my ass to say the least, and not allowing me to write. But, hopefully you all like these last two chapters!

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. The songs belong to Lady Antebellum.

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"Whatever you want, B. I don't really care either way," she said, and continued under her breath, "it's better than my crappy motel room anyway."

"K, well I have a pair of pjs that might fit you, so…come on," Buffy said after a minute of contemplation.

"Uh, B?" Faith asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna – uh, do you wanna maybe go to The Bronze?" Faith asked. She wanted to work off that other half of the H and Hs if Buffy wasn't going to help her.

"Sure," Buffy asked, glad that the awkwardness of their sleeping situation could be left until later.

The girls gathered their things and made their way to The Bronze mostly in silence. Once they got there they started onto the dance floor immediately and got completely engrossed in the music, forgetting everything else in the process.

Lady Antebellum was playing. Normally, the country twang wasn't Faith's thing, but this song – well, she could live with it.

_I run from hate_

_I run from prejudice_

_I run from pessimists_

_But I run too late_

_I run my life_

_Or is it running me_

_Run from my past_

_I run too fast_

_Or too slow it seems_

_When lies become the truth_

_That's when I run to you_

_This world keeps spinning faster_

_Into a new disaster so I run to you_

_I run to you baby_

_And when it all starts coming undone_

_Baby you're the only one I run to_

_I run to you_

_We run on fumes_

_Your life and mine_

_Like the sands of time_

_Slippin' right on through_

_And our love's the only truth_

_That's why I run to you_

Faith couldn't help but think that it described the way that she'd like her relationship with Buffy to be. Little did she know that Buffy was thinking the same thing about her. Soon the two slayers found themselves dancing in each other's arms. Not quite willing themselves to look the other in the eye. Another song began to play, one that caused both girls to close the gap between them – Buffy resting her head on Faith's chest, and Faith resting her head on Buffy's as another song began to play.

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor_

_Reachin for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore_

_And I wonder if I ever crossed your mind_

_For me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door_

_Wishing you come sweeping in the way you did before_

_And I wonder if I ever crossed your mind_

_To me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin' at all_

_It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now_

_And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_I just need you now_

_Ooo, baby, I need you now_

A few more songs played, but the two girls in the middle of the dance floor were oblivious. For a while, they were perfectly content and comfortable with each other. The band took a break and finally the two broke apart, breaking out of their reveries.

"B?" Faith asked, extremely tentative and out of character for her. Almost fearful, Buffy thought.

"Yeah?" Buffy asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"Can we – I, uh – B I don't – damn this is hard," Faith said, inwardly chastising herself.

"Hey," Buffy said, gently cupping Faith's face with her hand, "Just say what you need to."

"Easier said," Faith muttered. "Look, B, I – I, I think… I think maybe that…can we go back to your house and talk?"

"Of course, Faith. Come on, let's go," Buffy said, reluctantly extracting herself from Faith's arms, thinking that it would probably be the last time that she would get that close to the girl, and took Faith's hand – leading her from the club.


	4. Chapter 4

The girls reached the house and went up to Buffy's bedroom without much conversation. Once they were inside, Faith collapsed on the bed and Buffy sat parallel to her – leaning against the headboard where Faith was lying next to her. Faith rolled over on her stomach and buried her head in her arms. Buffy reached out and rubbed her back hesitantly, silently encouraging her to say whatever she needed to.

"B, I'm just gonna say it, ok? So don't stop me otherwise I'm gonna lose the little bit of guts I got. Damn it, B, you're driving me crazy. I want you but you aren't ready for that kind of thing. So, I guess I'll just leave you alone after tonight."

Buffy was quiet for a long time. Soon she realized that Faith's shoulders were heaving as she cried quietly – trying to hide it from Buffy.

"I'm sorry I – I'm not sure – I didn't know what to say. I guess I'm not ready for that but…but Faith I could be. If…god, I can't ask you to wait. But Faith if I just had…time," Buffy said quietly. Faith didn't move – she hiccupped a bit as she tried to get her breathing under control. "Fai, I'm sorry, I – here." Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's middle, tugging her gently so that she was sitting between her legs with her back to Buffy on the bed. Buffy wrapped her arms tighter around her as Faith hid her face in her hands. "Come here, Fai," Buffy said, pulling Faith so that she was sitting with her face buried in Buffy's hair. After a few moments, Faith wrapped her arms back tightly around Buffy.

Faith could only think of the feeling of being in Buffy's arms – the feeling of Buffy's one arm holding her tight around her waist, and the feeling of her one hand being buried in her own brunette hair, the feeling of Buffy kissing her gently on the forehead as she tried to calm her. Everything was feeling – nothing was thinking, and to Faith, that was a relief.

Once she had her breathing mostly under control, Faith realized how exhausted she was. Without even thinking, she told Buffy what she felt.

"I'm so tired, Buffy. But I love you…maybe…maybe someday…"

"Shh, Faith. We'll figure it out somehow. Just sleep if you're tired, ok? I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere," Buffy said. After a moment, she spoke again, "I love you too."

Faith smiled a little before saying, "Thanks, B," and drifting off to sleep in the blonde's arms. Buffy was too awake to sleep, and so she just sat and held Faith, thinking of things to come.

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Sorry, the ending's rather abrupt. What did you think? Please review!


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